Science—cool when it's invisible and behind closed doors, but much, much cooler when it produces spectacular photos. Lucky for all of us, Popular Science has a stunning gallery of the year's best. Check below for our favorite picks.

The full selection is massive—but we thought these were the coolest. And like any captivating science photo, it might not be obvious what each is at first glance. Try to guess before reading on.

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If you managed to navigate the gallery without getting sucked into a simulated black hole, hit the rest of the photos—this is only a small sample of a big year in science. [PopSci]